Paula Morizono shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Paula, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
Yes, my logo. It is a stylized take on DaVinci’s Truvian man. I wanted the hair, colors and style just right. It took a lot of time and effort, but now I love it!
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I have worked in the fitness/rehab world for 25 years—physical therapy, chiropractic clinics, gyms, schools, nursing homes and dance studios. Over the years I have helped students develop real strength, the kind they can absorb and make part of their daily lives. I realized that strength comes from consistent and correct execution of daily life movements—lifting children, caregiving, bending over to do laundry, working in the kitchen, gardening. I started asking students to show me how they move when doing daily activities. Through these observations, I can correct their form to help avoid injury.
My philosophy is fully explained in my book, “Everyday Fitness: Strength Through Daily Life Activities” available on Amazon. It’s a manual with diagrams and photos, covering the basics of posture, core strength, hip hinge bending and breathing—the keys to injury prevention and strength. It has been well received by doctors and students alike.
This year I will be giving community talks on the philosophy of the power of functional fitness and posture, and its application to daily activities. Please contact me if you would like your group to have an engaging community talk. I look forward to hearing from you!
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
When my son was a toddler, I became aware of his great love for me. It made me feel loved in a way I had never experienced before. It opened the door for expanding my own humanity. I am forever grateful for having my baby bird in my life.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
Be nice to yourself. Trust in the universe. Everything will unfold at the right time.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
The biggest lie is this– a posture brace corrects posture. That is simply impossible. Poor posture is an effect of what is happening at the feet, pelvis and rib cage. Since the shoulder blades glide on the rib cage, being bent forward will move the shoulder blades forward and create bad posture. No matter how many times you put on a posture brace pulling the shoulder blades back, it will eventually move forward once the brace is removed. The rib cage and pelvis both need to be aligned in neutral spine for good posture. Addressing only the shoulder blades for good posture is a fallacy.
Most fitness and health professionals try to correct posture from a muscular approach. I take the skeletal approach. If you set the skeleton, muscles will follow. I teach students to look in a mirror to see where their skeleton should align–to feel when they’re in proper alignment. Actually, feel where their skeleton should align. This helps them self-correct, maintaining good posture throughout the day.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
What happens in one area of the body affects other areas—sometimes immediately. All parts of the body are interconnected. For example, if your knee hurts, it’s important to look at the feet, glute weakness and iliotibial band tightness. The tendency is to look only at the site of the pain and discomfort—an incomplete picture. I understand this concept, from years of study and my own personal experience. I’ve had three foot surgeries. The surgeries not only helped my foot, but also my back. The chiropractor with whom I worked for 22 years took x-rays after my surgeries and was amazed at how much my spine was unwinding and straightening.
With this understanding, I focused on the foundational place, from where each type of activity was being driven. I broadened my knowledge, studying with different types of health practitioners, including physical therapists, chiropractors, pilates teachers, personal trainers, and power lifters. My physical activities have included functional movement, lifting, pilates, spinning, golf, swimming, and dance.
In order to optimally help students, whether in fitness or rehabilitation, it’s important to have a broad base of understanding. Again, this means looking at the body as a whole. If we don’t look at the big picture we cannot get to the root of the issue.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.strengthforeveryday.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/strength_for_everyday/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FunctionalPilates
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@strengthforeveryday
- Other: https://a.co/d/4mjSJr5
link to my book on Amazon
